[September 2, 2021]

It takes courage and solidarity, along with resourcefulness and a measure of composure, to cope with the terrible events that have battered Haiti, and these qualities shine through the pictures taken after the mid-August earthquake. AyiboPost – “more than an online media outlet, a platform for intellectual self-defence” – published a photo essay that reports on the depth of the tragedy, as well as moments that prove that “life goes on.”

Most of the photographs were taken by Valérie Baeriswyl, a member of the Kolektif 2D group. Her work testifies to people’s efforts to rise to the challenge. Haitians swing hammers, unearth valuable documents, play dominoes for entertainment, or break into a smile on the phone, in contrast with the dismembered house in the background. Kolektif 2D is manifestly important; in 2017, it published, in the form of a photo magazine, a rare documentary on the Haiti–Dominican Republic border.